Trailing-filling-end clearer for looms



`Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

NITED EDVJARD C. OPENSHAW, 0F X/VOONSOCKET, RHODE SLND, ASSGNR TG DRAPER CORPORATION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPGRATGN 0F MAENE.

TRAILING-FILINGEND CLEAR/ER FR LOOMS.

Application led July 25, 1925. Serial No. 45,886.

This invention relates to means for clearing from a detector or filling fork a trailing filling end lett, after breakage of the iilling while weaving, extending from the edge of the cloth so that such a trailing filling end will not be in position to influence the detector or filling nfork. The invention also relates to means for preventing an abnormally slack running filling which extends between the edge oit the cloth and the shuttle from getting beneath and in front of the llmg forli.

The present invention, in its main aspects, is an improvement upon that disclosed in Letters Patent to Draper and Northrop,

No. 808,146, granted December 26, 1905. This patent describes quite fully the construction and operation of a loom having a filling fork type of detector, explains the reason for the occurrence of a'trailing filling end extending from the edge of the cloth and points out the importance of clearing or removing such trailing filling end so that it will not be in a position to infiuence or interfere with the proper operation of the filling fork. This patent further discloses a simple and eective form of device which has been found in practice largely to obviate the difiiculties previously encountered by reason of such trailing filling ends.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved form ot means of the general type and purpose shown in the Draper and Northrop patent, in which the clearing action is secured under all conditions with certainty and certain objections 'found to exist in the use of the device oi the Draper and Northrop patent are obviated.

The object of the present invention is further to provide means for preventing an abnormally slaclr ruiming filling extending between the edge of the cloth and the shuttle vfrom getting beneath and in front of the fork. lt not infrequently happens that upon the completion of the laying oi' a piclr ot filling, more filling unwinds from or comes olf the filling carrier than is necessary, thus leaving an abnormal slackness in the filling extending from the cloth to the shuttle when boxed at the end of the pick. rihis abnormal slaclniess is not infrequently of such a character that the filling gets beneath and in front o't' the fork and effects the detecting action when it should not take place or breaks the filling and thus interferes with the proper operation of the loom.

rThe nature and objects of the invention will appear more fully 'from the accompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Since the general construction and operation of a loom equipped with a detector or filling fork is well known to those skilled inthe art, and since the patent to Draper and Northrop hereinbetore mentioned describes and discloses in full a construction upon which the present invention is largely an improvement, it will be necessary herein only to illustrate and describe in detail the construction and operation of those features directly concerned with the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view in transverse cross section showing` at the left the breast beam of a loom with a filling fork detector mounted thereon and at the right, the lay and connected parts fitted with a preferred form of construction embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the loom showing the parts with which the invention is directly concerned and with the lay in substantially the same position as Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail in front elevation to showv the relative position of the parts when the filling fork has passed into the recess in the lay. This view is partially in vertical cross section taken on the line 3 3 oi' Fig. Il.

Fig. t is a view in side elvation and partially in transverse cross section taken through the lay adjacent the clearer.

In the construction illustrated, the lay l, carried by the lay swords 2, the shuttle box 3 at one end or' the lay, the detector mechanism shown as a filling- 'forl 4 pivoted to swing on the pivot 5 in the fork slide (l. carried on the breast beam 7, the transverse recess in the lay into which the iorlr passes upon the beat-up or' the lay, and the grid 9 with which the filling fork cooperates, mav be and are all ot' a substantially usual coiistruction and operate in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.

vWhen the filling is carried by the shuttle through the shed l0, it is led thereby along the race-way in iront ot' the grid 9 and ezitends to the shuttle in the box 3. `When the lay beats up, the filling extending in iront and into the lay.

of the grid 9 engages the fork 4 and tilts it on its pivot 5. If, however, the filling fails, either by exhaustion or breakage, there should be nothingto cause the tilting of the fork l and the failure of the forli to tilt is relied upon and utilized to effect a change in the operation of the loom, such as the replenishnient of the running filling or the stoppage of the loom as may be required. It will be recognized, therefore, that the detecting action of the filling forli requires that it will pass through the recess 8 upon the beat-up without being tilted. if the lilling fails outside the cloth, i. e., between the edge of the cloth and the adjacent shuttle box, the trailing end thus left extending from the edge of the cloth frequently assumes suoli a position' as to effect the tilting of the forli, with the results fully set forth in the Draper and Northrop patent.

In the present construction, the device provided for securing the objects of the present inventionis a clearer formed in one piece of metal. It comprises a base 11 adapted to fit against the front face of the lay and provided with positioning lugs 12 which project under the lay. This base is rigidly secured to the lay by a bolt 13 passing through an elongated slot 111 in the base This slot allows for a slight lateral adjustment of the clearer on the lay.

The clearer proper, in the preferred form shown, comprises two portions, a thin, fiat blade portion 15 extending from the base 1i upwardly above the top face of the lay and forwardly from the lay in a plane transverse or at right angles to the lay and an arm 16 extending rearwardly from the blade 15 into the fork recess 8 in the lay.

The blade 15 of the clearer presents a rear, upright edge 17 Vextending above the top face of the lay and spaced forwardly from the front of the lay, a front upwardly and forwardly inclined edge 18, and a Jtop edge 19 forwardly and upwardly incliner. This blade portion 15 is located between the path traversed by the forli l and the adjacent edge 20 of the cloth and hence the clearer blade moves in a path at one side of the forl. v

When now a trailing i'illing end is broken ed and left extending from the edge of the cloth across the recess 8, the edge 17 of the clearer on the backward swing of the lay will usually catch this lilling end and clear it away, or if the fork jumps over the filling and the end is carried back into the cloth, looping the filling around the forl and holding it in tilted position, then the front edge 18 of the clearer on the forwardl beat of the lay will act to break the filling and release the fork, all as described in the said Draper and Northrop patent.

But looms are usually provided at the top of the lay with a metal race plate 21 and with the transverse recess 8 extending well below the bottom of this race plate. Furthermore, the front face of the race plate is usually set rearwardly from the front face of the lay, as clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 4. This leaves a shoulder upon which the trailing filling end frequently catches and, furthermore, the trailing filling end frequently is caught and pinched between the bottom of the race plate and the top of the lay, where it is dili'icult to maintain a tight joint. Again, if the rear edge of the clearer blade 15 extends below the bottoni of the recess 8, the trailing filling end frequently drops down behind this edge to a position wnere it passes in front of the fork and thus when it is of su'liicient length, it interferes with the proper functioning of the forli.

rihese and other objections are obviated by the second portion of the clearer herein referred to as the arm 16. This arm, which is preferably an integral part of the clearer, extends from the clearer rearwardly into the recess S and the top edge or surface 22 of this arm is located between the plane of the top face of the lay and the path traversed by the bottom of the forl. To insure that vthe trailing filling ends shall not be caught in the joint between the race plate and the body of the lay, this top surface 22 is preferably located between the plane of the top of the race plate, which constitutes the top face of the lay and the plane of the bottom of the race plate. The arm 16 extends in the recess 8 between the path of the fork and the side wall of the recess. This relation Vof the parts is well shown in Figs. 8 and 4C.

1t will thus be seen that it is impossible for a trailing illing end to drop beneath the fori; and impossible for the end to catch in the joint between the race plate and the body of the lay or be caught by the shoulder formed at the front face of the race plate. At the saine time, the effect-ive portion oi the rear, upright edge l? of the clearer blade 15 is preserved so that it can catch the trailing filling end and clear it away upon the backward movement of the lay.

The present invention not only thus insures the 'proper functioning of the clearer so as to prevent any trailing filling ends influencing the detector, but it also provides a means for obviating certain diliiculties which arise due to an abnormal slackness in the running filling between the edge of the cloth and the shuttle. Sometimes as the shuttle concludes its pick, an undue or un` necessary amount of filling unwinds or comes off from the filling carrier, so that the running filling, instead of extending fairly taut from the shed to the shuttle in the box, is loose, slack and kinky between the shuttl and the cloth.' Such an abnormal slaclrness lll) isa

may result in the filling getting beneath and in front of the fork when the lay beats up so that the filling upon the return pick is caught around the fork, either breaking the filling, injuring the mechanism, or causing the improper detecting action of the fork. The construction herein provided in which the clearer blade l5 and the arm 16 extend well above the path traversed by the bottom of the fork and extend well forward of the lay, prevents any such slack filling from dropping to a position where the forli will pass over it and the filling get in front of the fork.

The present invention, particularly in the preferred form illustrated, may readily be applied to existing looms without interfering with the present construction and its action is certain, prompt and eective, while its simplicity of structure and operation insure its maintenance in operative condition and render it little subject Ato wear or breakaee.

CIn the case of a double fork loom, the. device will be applied at each side of the loom.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a loom, a lay having a transverse detector recess, a detector passing into said recess upon the beat-up and moved by engagement with the. running filling when extended over the recess, and a clearer mounted on the front of the lay and having a portion extending above the top face of the lay between the path of the detector and the edge of the cloth so that either the rear or the front edge of this portion may act upon a trailing filling end extending from the cloth and free the detector from the influence of such trailing end and having a second portion extending rearwardly into the recess with its top surface between the plane of the top face of the lay and the path traversed by the bottom of the detector, thereby to insure the functioning of the clearer.

2. In a loom, a lay having a transverse detector recess, a detector passing into said re cess upon the beat-up and moved by engagement with the running filling when extended over the recess, and a clearer mounted on the front of the lay and having a blade extending above the top face of the lay transversely thereof between the path of the detector andl the edge of the cloth so that either the rear or the front edge of this blade may act upon a trailing filling end extending from the cloth and free the detector from the influence of such trailing end and having an arm extending rearwardly from the blade into the recess with the top surface of the arm between the plane of the top face of the lay and the path traversed by the bottom of the detector, thereby to insure the functioning of the blade portion of the clearer.

3. In a loom, a lay having a transverse fork recess, a filling fork passing into said recess upon the beat-up and adapted to be tilted by engagement with the running filling when extended over the recess, a clearer mounted on the lay and having an upright, thin, flat blade extending 1n front of and -at right angles to the lay and projecting above the plane of the top face of the lay and located between the path of the filling fork and the edge of the cloth so that either its rear or front edge may act upon a trailing filling end extending from the cloth and clear the same from a position effecting the action of the fork, and an arm extending from the clearer rearwardly into the recess with its top surface between the plane of the top face of the lay and the path traversed by the bottom of the fork.

4. In a loom, a lay having a race plate and a transverse recess extending beneath the bottom of the race plate, a filling fork passing into said recess upon the beat-up and moved by engagement with the running filling when extending over the recess, and a clearer mounted on the front of the lay and having a blade extending above the race plate beneath the path of the fork and the edge of the cloth so that either the rear or the front edge of the blade may act upon a trailing filling end extending from the cloth and free the fork from the influence of such trailing end and having an arm extending rearwardly from the blade into the recess with its top surface lying between the planes of the top and bottom of the race plate, thus to prevent the filling end from being caught between the race plate and the body of the lay and to insure the functioning of the clearer blade.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EDWARD C. OPENSHAVV.

Certicate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,612,209, granted December 28, 1926, upon the application of Edward C. Openshaw, of Woonsoeket, Rhode Island, Jfor an improvement in Trailing-Filling-End Clearer yfor Looms, an errorl appears in the printed specification requiring` `correction as follows: Page 3, line 94, claim 4f,

for the Word beneath read between; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may coliform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofioe.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of February, A. D. 1927.

. M. J. MOORE,

Atng UomWI/ssz'oner of Patents. 

